From Guinea To The U.S.: Timeline Of First Ebola Patient In New York City

A doctor who recently returned from Guinea has tested positive for Ebola -- the first case of the deadly virus in New York City.

Here is a timeline of Craig Spencer's movements since he got back from the West African nation:

When did he return from Guinea?

Spencer came back to the United States last week after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, where he worked for Doctors Without Borders.

He completed his work in Guinea on October 12 and left the country two days later via Brussels.

He arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 17, but he exhibited no symptoms of the virus until Thursday morning. The physician, who works at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, was checking his temperature twice a day. He has not seen any patients since his return.

Did he have any symptoms?

The 33-year-old did not have any symptoms after his return, but developed a fever, nausea, pain and fatigue Thursday morning. He began feeling sluggish a couple of days ago, and his fever spiked to 100.3 degrees Thursday, authorities said.

How many people has he been in contact with?

Spencer was in contact with four people after he started exhibiting symptoms, authorities said. Ebola isn't contagious until someone has symptoms.

Three people -- his fiancée and two friends -- are being placed on quarantine and monitored, health officials said. The fourth person is a car service driver who had no direct contact with him and is not considered at risk.

Spencer also went for a three-mile jog and visited a bowling alley in Brooklyn prior to feeling symptomatic, according to Dr. Mary Travis Bassett, New York City's health commissioner. The bowling alley is closed as a precaution, she said.

He also traveled on three subway lines. "At the time that the doctor was on the subway he did not have fever ... he was not symptomatic," Bassett said.

Is his hospital equipped to handle Ebola cases?

Spencer is at New York's Bellevue Hospital, where he has been in isolation since he was taken there by emergency personnel.

It's one of eight hospitals statewide designated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as part of an Ebola preparedness plan.

"We are as ready as one could be," Cuomo said. His state will be different from Texas, he said, where a Liberian man was diagnosed with Ebola and two nurses who treated him later contracted the virus. The man, Thomas Eric Duncan, later died.

"We had the advantage of learning from the Dallas experience," he said.

How will his case be different from Duncan's?

Duncan, who had flown from Liberia to Dallas, died on October 8, becoming the first person diagnosed with the disease in the United States. The two nurses are undergoing treatment, raising concerns about the nation's ability to deal with an outbreak.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city followed every protocol in its handling of the latest case.

For starters, Spencer was admitted to a hospital as soon as he developed symptoms, unlike Duncan, who was sent home with antibiotics the first time he went to Texas Presbyterian Hospital. He returned days later and was hospitalized.

Spencer exhibited symptoms of Ebola for "a very brief period of time" and had direct contact with "very few people" in New York, the mayor said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dispatched a team to New York to help with the case.

What about his neighbors?

Spencer's Manhattan apartment has been isolated.

Mark Levine, a councilman who represents his neighborhood, said city health department workers distributed information on the disease door-to-door, according to CNN affiliate WABC.

"The goal right now is to make sure people don't panic," he said.

Ebola is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. The outbreak has killed nearly 5,000 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

(CNN)